AIM OF POLICY: To ensure that information obtained and held by Northumbria Police, be it in electronic format or hardcopy document, meets the criteria of being accurate, adequate, relevant and timely and is thereby in alignment with the Authorised Professional Practice: Information Management and consequently fit for purpose.

BENEFIT OF POLICY: It establishes a point of reference for staff, setting out the data quality principles within Northumbria Police and will assist in ensuring that critical decisions are based on reliable and complete information.

REASON FOR POLICY: Northumbria Police is committed to the principles for managing information as laid out in Authorised Professional Practice: Information Management.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northumbria Police will ensure that a professional and consistent approach is maintained when collecting and recording information, and that a high standard of information is input into its systems. This is essential for ensuring that the correct links and associations can be made and for effective searching.

All Northumbria Police records / police information will comply with the data quality principles, as set out in the APP: Information Management, of being:

Accurate

Adequate

Relevant

Timely

All staff will:

apply data quality principles to all police information which will ensure information is recorded for a policing purpose in the appropriate format for the business area in which it is held.